For most of us our first encounter with a book was when we were very young. Odds are it was a big thing, or at least seemed so to our tiny hands. It was filled with pictures, some words and usually involved a parent or two along side trying to help us navigate this exciting new world called reading.

And while we moved on to different types of books and different types of reading as we aged, this first encounter may well have defined not only what type of reader we were going to be but also implanted some pretty strong ideas of what type of person we might be. So you would think that given the importance of that first contact the world of illustrated children's books would be a much studied and analysed experience. But you'd be wrong. For the most part, the illustrated children's book has been,the orphan child of academia.

That's something that Gail Edwards and Judith Saltman have set out to correct. Gail Edwards is Chair of the Department of History at Douglas College. Judith Saltman is an associate professor in the school of Library, Archival and Information studies and Chair of the Masters of Arts in Children's Literature Program at the University of British Columbia.

And they are the co-authors of Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children's Illustrated Books and Publishing. They joined us from our Vancouver Studios.

Tough City Writer

I'm a writer and editor from Tofino (aka Tough City, thus Tough City Writer). When I first started this blog, it was to focus on books, writing, reading, occasionally my own writing, and other subjects of questionable worth. Now, I'm expanding the scope - art, life, food, travel - whatever inspires me to get my fingers on the keyboard. For posts more specific to Tofino, check out my other blog, The Heart of Tofino, www.theheartoftofino.com. For more about my work, see www.adriennemason.com.